Easier to study in Scotland for NZ'ers

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He came and enjoyed the mushrooms, thought Mayor Lianne Dalziel was "very impressive" but ultimately he wants to make it easier for New Zealanders to study in Scotland.

The Scottish Government's cabinet secretary for education and lifelong learning, Michael Russell, visited Christchurch yesterday and said the current visa system in Scotland made it difficult for students.

"There has been a lot of difficulty with the visa system and we want to encourage more young people, particularly post- graduate, to come and study in Scotland."

Scotland had five of the top 200 universities in the world, he said. "Part of our debates in the referendum is to make it a little easier for people to come and study in Scotland."

On September 18 Scots will have a chance to vote in a referendum on whether Scotland should be an independent country.

After a visit to Clearview School in Rolleston yesterday, Russell met Dalziel and was "very struck" by her. "She's taken on a tremendously difficult role."

Today Russell will talk about the Scottish constitution at the Centre for Scottish and Irish studies at Otago University.